1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a validity assurance system, a validity assurance method, and a recording medium storing a program. More specifically, the present invention relates to a validity assurance system including a terminal apparatus that generates a slip, a slip management apparatus including a slip management database that stores slip content data representing the contents of a slip generated by the terminal apparatus, and a voucher issuing apparatus that generates a voucher based on slip content data stored in the slip management database, a validity assurance method, and a recording medium storing a program.
2. Description of Related Art
Conventionally, when various electronic appliances such as a refrigerator, a washing machine, a microwave oven, a television, a printer, a personal computer, a facsimile, and a crime-preventing device, and various facilities such as a plant system are broken down, a customer generally inquires of a shop, a manufacturer, or the like about the breakdown, and requests the repair of the broken-down electronic appliance. Furthermore, in the case where an inspector of a shop or a manufacturer in various kinds of appliances and facilities visits periodically to check the presence/absence of abnormality irrespective of whether or not various kinds of appliances and facilities are broken down, and finds abnormality, the inspector or a repairperson arranged separately also generally conducts a repair.
The shop or manufacturer that has received a repair request dispatches a repairperson such as an engineer to the customer. The repairperson that has been dispatched to the customer repairs the broken-down electronic appliance. When the repair of the electronic appliance is completed, the repairperson generates a repair slip, using a terminal apparatus such as a personal digital assistant (PDA), for example. Herein, the repair slip is provided with slip items such as an operator's name, an operation date and time, operation hours, operation contents, an exchange component, and an estimate amount. More specifically, the repairperson inputs slip contents corresponding to the slip items through a touch panel provided on a display screen of the terminal apparatus, for example.
The customer checks the slip contents of the repair slip input by the repairperson on the display screen, and if there is no mistake in the slip contents, writes a signature through the touch panel provided on the display screen of the terminal apparatus, for example. The customer writes a signature by tracing the display screen of the terminal apparatus, for example, with a touch pen. After the customer writes a signature, the repairperson prints the repair slip with the customer's signature written thereon, using a printing function provided in the terminal apparatus. The printed repair slip is given to the customer.
After giving the repair slip to the customer, the repairperson sends the repair slip to the slip management apparatus as repair slip data by operating the terminal apparatus. When acquiring the repair slip data sent from the terminal apparatus, the slip management apparatus stores the repair slip data in the repair management database provided in the repair management apparatus. In the slip management database of the slip management apparatus, a plurality of repair slip data acquired from the plurality of terminal apparatuses are stored (e.g., see JP 2004-240675 A).
After that, in an invoice issuing department of the shop, manufacturer, or the like that has conducted the repair, an invoice (voucher) for making a charge of a repair fee is issued. More specifically, a person in charge of issuing an invoice in the invoice issuing department downloads the repair slip data, based on which an invoice is issued, from the plurality of repair slip data stored in the slip management database to an invoice issuing apparatus. The person in charge of issuing an invoice refers to slip contents described in the repair slip represented by the downloaded repair slip data, and calculates a charge amount. The person in charge of issuing an invoice issues an invoice describing charge contents such as a charge amount, a transfer account number, an operation date and time, operation hours, operation contents, and an exchange component, using the invoice issuing apparatus. The issued invoice is sent to the customer from the person in charge of issuing an invoice by mail (e.g., see JP 10(1998)-63690 A).
The customer pays the charge amount (repair fee) to the shop, manufacturer, or the like that has conducted the repair, based on the invoice sent from the invoice issuing department.
Even during maintenance, at a time of an inspection operation, inspected items and the results thereof are checked, and the matter that needs repairing and the countermeasure against it are checked. At a later date, the achievement of the inspection operation is checked. Alternatively, in the case where the repair is on a chargeable basis, an invoice is issued in the same way as in the above.
However, there may be a case where the customer has doubts about the charge contents in the invoice before paying the charge amount (e.g., a case where the charge amount described in an invoice is different from the estimate amount described in the repair slip). In such a case, the customer needs to check whether or not the charge contents in the invoice are matched with the slip contents of the repair slip.
Specifically, it is necessary for the customer to check whether or not the charge contents such as a charge amount, an operation date and time, operation hours, and operation contents described in the invoice are matched with the slip contents such as an estimate amount, an operation date and time, operation hours, and operation contents described in the repair slip for each item. Therefore, there arises a problem that a lot of time and labor are incurred in the customer.